Council snoopers are to be given even greater powers to pry into our phone, email and internet records - landing the taxpayer with a bill of almost £50million.
Town halls, along with the police, security services, health authorities and other public bodies, will have access to ' communication' records of anyone suspected of involvement in even the most minor crime.
The powers, which stem from an EU directive supposedly designed to catch terrorists, will even allow police to track down those who have told friends they are planning to harm themselves.
But it will cost the taxpayer £46.58million over eight years to compensate mobile phone companies and internet firms for storing and providing the data.
Critics said the measure took Britain a step closer to becoming a surveillance state. Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'Yet again the Government have proved themselves unable to resist the temptation to take a power quite properly designed to combat terrorism to snoop on the lives of ordinary people in everyday circumstances.
Town halls, along with the police, security services, health authorities and other public bodies, will have access to ' communication' records of anyone suspected of involvement in even the most minor crime.
The powers, which stem from an EU directive supposedly designed to catch terrorists, will even allow police to track down those who have told friends they are planning to harm themselves.
But it will cost the taxpayer £46.58million over eight years to compensate mobile phone companies and internet firms for storing and providing the data.
Critics said the measure took Britain a step closer to becoming a surveillance state. Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'Yet again the Government have proved themselves unable to resist the temptation to take a power quite properly designed to combat terrorism to snoop on the lives of ordinary people in everyday circumstances.
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